Locking devices have been very commonly used in the prior art to lock two straps or cords together by means of an intermediary device. Such locking devices are commonly found on camping gear, particularly backpacks; motorcycle and bicycle helmets; and other sporting products. In the prior art such locking devices were commonly and originally made of metal, but in more recent years have been made from various plastic materials. One type of prior art locking device comprised a buckle having two units which could be locked together with one strap or cord secured to one unit and another strap or cord connected to the other unit.
In addition to the lock-together type of buckle, cam buckles have also been widely used in the prior art. Exemplary prior art cam buckle include cam buckles sold under part numbers 100-0325, 100-0825, 100-0327 and 127-3200 by ITW Nexus of Wood Dale, Ill.. Cam buckles have also been sold under part number 4535 by National Molding Corporation of Farmingdale, N.Y.. In these devices, one strap is secured to one end of the buckle and the other strap is fed through the buckle and is locked between two portions of the buckle.
Also in the prior art, bicycle helmets have become a widely accepted accessory for bicycle riders. Indeed, in many states of the United States, the state legislatures are requiring or considering requiring all bicyclists to wear helmets when riding bicycles, similar to the legal requirements imposed on motorcyclists to wear appropriate safety helmets. Conventional bicycle helmets have a protective portion which protects the crown of the user's head, with the lower edge of the protective portion being typically placed at approximately at the top of the ears of the wearer. Conventionally, a pair of the straps on each side of the helmet have been coupled together by some means at a point below the user's earlobe, with one or both straps then continuing on to a releasable lock-together type buckle disposed under the wearer's chin. The fastener used at the junction of the two straps on either side of the helmet under the user's ear have typically permitted adjustment of the length of the straps so that the helmet could be made comfortable for the user, but also it has been necessary, in the prior art, for the user to have to remove the helmet in order to make adjustments conveniently. Alternatively, if the fastener used at the junction of the two straps is adjustable on the head of the user, it also has had a propensity to release while the helmet was in use, so that the point where the two straps came together was not fixed. Such helmets have been manufactured by Bell Sports, Inc., the assignee of this patent and by others.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a buckle or locking device capable of locking two straps or cords together, with the buckle being conveniently adjustable relative to the straps when the buckle is in an open position, and securely locking the two straps together when in a closed position.
It is another object of the invention that the position which the buckle takes relative to the straps be independently adjustable for each of the straps when the buckle is in its open position and that both of the straps should be locked in place relative to the buckle and relative to each other when the buckle is in its closed or locked position.